Cucumber is one of the oldest cultivated plants, native to
southwest Asia. Humans began to cultivate it as long ago as the
prehistoric era, and historical record indicates that it was a
favorite of the ancient Egyptians. Its popularity spread with the
Romans, who brought it to the farthest reaches of their empire, and
it finally reached the Americas with Spanish explorers, who carried
it across the sea.

The leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated
into leaflets)

Leaf arrangement

alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

Leaf blade edges

the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and
lobes

Flowers

there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the
flower is radially symmetrical)

there are five petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower the
petals or the sepals are fused into a cup or tube

Fruits

the fruit is fleshy length 50–500 mm

Habit / Habitat

Herbaceous vine with pubescent stems and unbranched tendrils up
to 30cm long

sativus grows on moist, well-drained (sandy) soils
rich in organic matter and slightly alkaline. It prefers full sun
exposure in warm and humid climates; it is not frost resistant .
"

Occurrence

Cucumbers came originally from southern Asia, but are now
cultivated commercially and in home gardens throughout the
world.

Edible parts

World wide use:
Fruit.

Main preparations:
Raw, cooked, pickled, juiced

Raw: Raw cucumbers are often sliced and added
to salads or sandwiches, and they provide all of their health
benefits when consumed this way.

Cooked: Cooked cucumbers lose a small amount of
their nutritional value, but still serve as a common and healthy
component of larger dishes.

Pickled: Pickles or gherkins are a common
preparation of cucumbers, but because the brine used to pickle the
cucumbers is high in salt and other additives, pickles are not as
healthy as raw or cooked cucumbers.

Juiced: Cucumber juice is the least common
preparation. It provides many of the health benefits, but due to
the removal of pulp when juicing, the anthelmintic properties of
the seeds may be reduced."

Used by tribal community in Jawhar:
Fruits

Method of consumption

Jawhar tribal: Direct
consumption of fruits

Other Recipe

Cucumbers should be picked while still young and just before
they start turning yellow.

Medicinal use

As a commonly used ingredient of many dishes, cucumber is better
known for its culinary uses than for its medicinal properties.
However, it has been proven to be beneficial for:

Reducing inflammation. Cucumber is commonly used to reduce skin
inflammation and can be useful for reducing internal swelling as
well.

Stimulating urination. Cucumber has diuretic properties.

Delaying age-related disease. Antioxidants, which prevent the
oxidation - a process thought to contribute to signs of aging - can
be found in cucumber.

Regulating intestinal processes. Cucumber has been used to treat
dysentery, and its seeds have also been shown to help rid the body
of tapeworms.

Nutritional and medicinal information

The leaf juice is emetic, it is used to treat dyspepsia in
children. The fruit is depurative, diuretic, emollient, purgative
and resolvent. The fresh fruit is used internally in the treatment
of blemished skin, heat rash etc, whilst it is used externally as a
poultice for burns, sores etc and also as a cosmetic for softening
the skin. The seed is cooling, diuretic, tonic and vermifuge. 25 -
50 grams of the thoroughly ground seeds (including the seed coat)
is a standard dose as a vermifuge and usually needs to be followed
by a purgative to expel the worms from the body. A decoction of the
root is diuretic.

Harvesting and preserving

Requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a warm
very sunny position. A frost-tender plant, the cucumber is commonly
cultivated for its edible fruit, there are many named varieties.
Many of these varieties are only suitable for protected cropping in
Britain though there are a number that have been specifically bred
for cool temperate areas and these succeed outdoors in most
summers. Many of the cultivars, especially the greenhouse forms,
should have their male flowers removed in order to prevent
fertilization, since the fertilized fruits have a bitter taste. A
number of cultivars have been developed that only produce female
flowers. Cucumbers make good companion plants for sweet corn, beans
and sunflowers, but they dislike growing with potatoes and aromatic
herbs. The roots of cucumber plants secrete a substance that
inhibits the growth of most weeds

Propagation and Storage

Seed - sow early to mid spring in a greenhouse in a rich soil.
Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per
pot and thin out to the best plant. Grow them on fast and plant out
after the last expected frosts, giving them cloche or frame
protection for at least their first few weeks if you are trying
them outdoors.

Other uses

Cucumber skins have been shown to repel cockroaches in
laboratory experiments. The fruit is applied to the skin as a
cleansing cosmetic to soften and whiten it. The juice is used in
many beauty products.